VERNAL — "I'll bet we catch three species of fish," said Ed Johnson, fisheries biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. "And I'll bet we catch them by noon."

It sounded like quite a boast, three species in three hours, but Johnson was talking about a water he knew well: Steinaker Reservoir in northeastern Utah.

And the good news for anglers across the state is the strategies Johnson outlined for Steinaker aren't unique to Steinaker: they're strategies that can be used to catch bluegills, largemouth bass and trout at waters across Utah through the middle of June.

While continuing to get his kayak ready for fishing, Johnson outlined his strategy.

"Steinaker [fishing] is just getting hot; the water is high and the fish have moved into the shallows to spawn," he said. "We'll gear up for largemouth bass first and fish the submerged vegetation on the north end. Most of the fish we catch will be around 12 to 15 inches but there are some bigger ones, up to about six to eight pounds. I'd really like to land one of those, but they have eluded me so far. I've seen them, but the largest I've landed this year is about four pounds.

"After we catch a few bass, we'll switch over to fly rods and go after bluegill. The water should be warming up by then, so the bluegill will be more active and ready to bite.

"Finally, we'll put a crankbait or spinner on and troll for trout."

The day went almost exactly as planned; the only deviation was catching four species of fish instead of three! "The bluegill have mostly out competed the green sunfish, but you still see a few in here," Johnson said as he landed a sunfish, making four different species of fish he would catch within three hours that day.

He also added a new site to his list of "try agains" when he floated over a huge bass while he was geared up for bluegill. "She must be getting ready to spawn as she held tight to an area near a submerged log," Johnson said. "Unfortunately, she ignored my bluegill fly. She was really huge and heavy with eggs; I'll bet she'd be five or six pounds or larger."

So how did Johnson and his small party of three manage to catch all three species of fish from kayaks and canoes? Johnson says his technique, which can be used at waters across the state, is a matter of knowing when, where and how.

When

"Shallow-water spring fishing really perks up once the water temperatures get around 55 to 60 degrees for bass and bluegill, and from ice-off to about 60 degrees for rainbows," Johnson said. "There will be another 'hot' time for trout in the fall, when the water cools down.

"During the summer, all three species will seek out cooler waters, so the angler needs to go deeper."

Where

"Try fishing in the shallow waters in and around the submerged vegetation for bass and bluegill and just outside, or in roughly 10 to 15 feet or more, for the rainbows," Johnson said. "Rainbows may be in shallower waters, but it's too easy to catch vegetation when trolling. This, in fact all of these techniques, aren't just for Steinaker: they hold true for other bass, bluegill and trout waters as well."

How

"Knowing which gear to use is essential," Johnson said. "Bass, bluegill and rainbow trout have some similarities-they are all predators-but generally they prefer different prey."

For bass, Johnson rigged his pole with a six-pound test line with a brown, crayfish-colored grub loosely hooked through a circle hook. Other colors of grubs may also work: it often takes several tries to figure out which works best on a given day. He then placed a small weight a couple of feet above the hook.

"Cast into openings in or near areas with submerged vegetation," he said.

By using a small weight, the grub slowly settled to the bottom. If the bass didn't hit it on the way down, Johnson lifted it up again and allowed it to settle a few times as he brought it closer to his kayak. Other anglers on the reservoir were using different lures and hook arrangements, and most were seen catching fish, but the slowly sinking grub presentations seemed to work the best.

Just about everything Johnson and his party placed on their lines worked for bluegill. The trick was to keep it small. Johnson's favorite bluegill rigs for the day were a dark beadhead fly on his fly rod and a micro-jig tipped with a red, plastic, scented crayfish on his spinning outfit. The dark fly was slightly weighted, so it sank easily, as did the micro-jig.

The water was reasonably clear, which prompted a small experiment: several different types of lures and flies were tried to see how attractive they were to bluegill. It was clear enough to see the fish, so it was easy to tell which lures were attracting their attention. As it turned out, all of the lures and flies they used caught bluegill, and some attracted a bass or two.

The tiny plastic grubs, micro-jigs and flies seemed to work well in all situations and were especially useful when Johnson and his party needed to cast into small openings in the submerged vegetation. Small spoons and spinners caught fish in larger areas where the lure could be cast and retrieved.

When trolling for trout, spinners and small crankbaits both worked well. The only problem was keeping the lures out of the submerged vegetation. What looked like deep water often hid willows and tree branches within a couple of feet of the surface.

Johnson said the fish will remain in the shallows for about two more weeks, and then they'll slowly move into deeper water as the surface waters warm. When the weather gets really hot, the best times to fish will be during the coolest hours of the day, which occur in the early morning and late evening.